


In Memoriam

by VanillaMostly



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Gen, Grief/Mourning, Hurt/Comfort, POV Minor Character, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-10
Updated: 2021-02-10
Packaged: 2021-03-16 17:33:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,116
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29336106
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VanillaMostly/pseuds/VanillaMostly
Summary: You can’t miss what you never had, there was a saying like that, but on 2nd of May of every year he always somehow did.
Kudos: 3





	In Memoriam

The anniversary of his parents’ death was always rough.

The other days in the year, Teddy could almost forget that he didn’t have a mother and father. Sure, he was raised by his grandmother and didn’t have any sisters and brothers, but he never felt lonely. He had his godparents, Harry and Ginny, and the large number of cousins, aunts and uncles that came with them. They were his family.

But on this day, Teddy felt it more - an aching, deep yearning that he couldn’t really describe. Oh, he never cried like Grandmother would. He hadn’t really known his mum and dad, after all. They told him stories, of course, and showed him photos- and it was almost like he knew them. But nothing changed the fact that Teddy had no memories of them, nothing tangible to hold onto…

_You can’t miss what you never had,_ there was a saying like that, but on the 2nd of May of every year he always somehow did.

-

“You know, your father said he hoped you would understand one day. The sacrifice he and your mother made,” Harry told Teddy once.

And Teddy did generally understand as he grew older. He knew what his parents did was brave and honorable, and made them heroes. Didn’t mean it made him less sad though. Didn’t mean part of him never wished that just for that day, his parents hadn’t done “the right thing.” Because they’d still be alive here, today.

Harry had lost his parents too, but… Well, it wasn’t quite the same with Harry, was it? His parents didn’t have a _choice._ Voldemort came barging through their front doors. But Teddy’s parents, they volunteered to fight Voldemort. They joined a fight that had plenty of other people fighting already. Harry could have won the war without them, couldn’t he?

Their sacrifice… didn’t feel necessary. That was all.

But Teddy felt that he couldn’t say this to Harry, or to Grandmother, or to anyone. He knew it sounded childish and selfish. He was almost ashamed to feel this way, as if he resented his parents for not being here and holding his hand.

Either way, he really hated this day.

-

This year the anniversary approached near the end of his first year at Hogwarts. It had been a great first year. He’d finally seen why so many people in his family talked about Hogwarts with that fond glow in their eyes. It wasn’t just the lessons which he loved, or his new friends, or the food, or the teachers and the Quidditch games… There was something about Hogwarts itself, from the castle walls to the green fields outside, even the Giant Squid in the lake. Everything about it felt cozy and warm.

The morning of the anniversary, though, Hogwarts felt different. It was cold and somber. Teddy wanted nothing more than to stay huddled in bed, but the Head Boy came around and reminded him to be downstairs for the memorial service. All students had to attend.

Reluctantly Teddy got dressed and joined the crowd of students as everyone headed towards the Great Hall for the first part of the memorial. There wasn’t going to be any classes today.

When he entered the Great Hall, Teddy saw that all four banners of the Houses were united together today in identical black drapes. The tables have been cleared, too, and replaced by rows of chairs. It was a sunny day outside, but dim, like nighttime, in here. Any chatter seemed to fall hush within minutes, and soon it was just the sound of rustling robes as the students took their seats.

Headmistress McGonagall stood at the podium, looking at them sternly over the top of her glasses. Her eyes seemed to soften though as she cleared her throat, looked down at her notes, and spoke.

“On this day eleven years ago, the Battle of Hogwarts took place. You know from your history lessons what happened in the battle, and how it changed history forever. But that is not why we remember this day.”

She looked around at the audience, and her gaze seemed to linger on Teddy’s.

“We remember this day for those who died, those who gave their lives to fight He-Who-Can-Now-Be-Named, Voldemort, and his followers. The youngest to die was only thirteen years old. The oldest was eighty-seven. This wasn’t just a war for Aurors, it was a war where students and professors and civilians and creatures… all joined together to fight.”

Professor McGonagall took off her glasses, and now she seemed to ignore her notes and was just talking to them in conversation.

“Children, most of you were young when the war broke out, or even not yet born. It is probably difficult for you to imagine the true horror of those times.” She sighed deeply, and her shoulders shook ever so slightly. She looked at them again, calm. “But I would not want you to. That is not what today is about. You see, all the people who fought eleven years ago, many of whom gave up their lives, made a very difficult choice. They had no idea if they would win or lose. They took a risk, a great leap of faith. They gambled their own futures so that we can have ours. We owe the world we have today to them.”

Professor McGonagall gently waved her wand. A ripple of gasps sounded through the crowd. Teddy looked up to see a stream of floating, bright candles descending from the ceiling.

“Each of these candles represent someone who perished at the Battle of Hogwarts.”

Teddy watched the candles, continuing to descend one after the other.There were so many, gracefully drifting over their heads, that it looked almost like a glowing river flowing through the middle of the Great Hall.

As the candles floated over Teddy, to his surprise, two candles seemed to fall from the group and drifted slowly down towards him.

They paused in front of Teddy, hovering brightly, warming him. There was writing on them, in bold script on the sides:

_Remus J.Lupin._

_Nymphadora M. Tonks._

Surreptitiously wiping his eyes on his sleeve, Teddy glanced around and saw that dozens of other students in the crowd, some he never spoke to, had a candle or more that stayed with them.

The rest of the candles were gathering now to the front of the hall, forming into a replica of the memorial monument that stood in the courtyard.

“Now, a moment of silence.”

Teddy closed his eyes. He felt peaceful, somehow. The heavy ache in his heart seemed to have lifted a while.

He found that he didn’t hate this day so much anymore.

**Author's Note:**

> I wanted to write a happy Next Gen fic after seeing a lot of death on an ICU rotation... But this kinda fic seems to suit me more. I guess it's more cathartic


End file.
